Telesat finalizes government funding for Lightspeed

The Telesat Lightspeed constellation is (finally) fully funded. The company announced Friday completion of funding agreements with the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec, allowing the company to acquire the satellites, contract for launch vehicles to deploy them, develop an integrated terrestrial network of landing stations and points of presence throughout the world, and fund the business and operational support systems for the network.

We are pleased to conclude these funding arrangements with the governments of Canada and Quebec as we make strong progress on the build-out of the revolutionary Telesat Lightspeed constellation, the largest space program in Canada’s history. – Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat

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The federal government is loaning the company C$2.14 billion, while the Quebec loan is C$400 million. Both include a floating interest rate, in-kind payment of interest for the first five years, and warrants in Telesat for the governments (10% and 1.87%, respectively) based on a US$3 billion (C$4.08 billion) valuation.

Lightspeed will operate in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) providing Ka-band services globally on 198 satellites. The constellation scaled back in size last year, allowing the company to shave ~40% off the build and deployment costs.

MDA is the prime contractor for the satellite construction. The company contracted with SpaceX for launch services beginning in 2026, allowing the constellation to serve customers from 2027.

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Telesat expects its Lightspeed network to run as a wholesale offering, with third parties handling end-user relations. This includes targeting aviation, among other markets, with the global footprint Lightspeed offers.

The satellite operator has worked with ThinKom (multiple times), Ball Aerospace (now part of BAE Systems) with the panels integrated into the Gilat (formerly Stellar Blu) ESA, and Anuvu to validate antenna performance against the LEO architecture.